Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 153

Devanagari script

सपादलक्षग्रामाणां प्रत्येकं परिकीर्तितः । पंचलक्षाश्च ग्रामाणां स्त्रीराज्यं परिकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

sapādalakṣagrāmāṇāṃ pratyekaṃ parikīrtitaḥ | paṃcalakṣāśca grāmāṇāṃ strīrājyaṃ parikīrtitam

Translation

ആ മൂന്ന് ദേശങ്ങളിലെയും ഓരോന്നും സപാദലക്ഷ (സവ്വലക്ഷ) ഗ്രാമപരിമിതമാണെന്ന് പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. ‘സ്ത്രീരാജ്യം’ എന്ന ദേശം പഞ്ചലക്ഷ ഗ്രാമങ്ങളുള്ളതെന്നു പ്രഖ്യാതം.

Word by Word

• sapāda: with a quarter (one and a quarter)
• sapāda: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ ‘with’) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; संख्याविशेषण (with a quarter; ‘and a quarter’)

• lakṣa: lakh (100,000)
• lakṣa: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद); संख्या ‘lakh’

• grāmāṇām: of villages
• grāmāṇām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• pratyekam: each
• pratyekam: Sambandha (Distributive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pratyeka (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वितरणार्थ (each)

• parikīrtitaḥ: is described/declared
• parikīrtitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari+kīrt (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त) ‘परिकीर्तित’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (is described)

• paṃcalakṣāḥ: five lakhs
• paṃcalakṣāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या) + lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: द्विगुसमासः; (pañca-lakṣa) संख्यावाचक; पुं/नपुंसकानुसारं प्रथमा बहुवचनरूपम् (here as count)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• grāmāṇām: of villages
• grāmāṇām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• strīrājyam: Strīrājya (women’s kingdom; name)
• strīrājyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (strīṇāṃ rājyaṃ / strī-rājyam)

• parikīrtitam: is described/declared
• parikīrtitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari+kīrt (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त) ‘परिकीर्तित’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (is described)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Strīrājya (deśa-name)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like tableau showing three regions each marked ‘1.25 lakh villages’, and a distinct, ornate city labeled Strīrājya marked ‘5 lakh villages’, with female rulers depicted in council.

Characters & Entities

• Strīrājya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa frames the world as a sacred, knowable order—remembering and mapping lands becomes a way of honoring dharma and the divine structure of creation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is singled out in this verse; it participates in a broader sacred-geographical catalogue within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse is descriptive (enumerative) rather than prescriptive.